Karnataka Govt Plans Expansion Of English Medium Instruction Apart From Kannada In State-Run Schools

Karnataka Minister revealed that studies conducted by the school education department showed a growing number of children were leaving government schools due to the absence of English-medium education

Karnataka School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa announced the government's plan to expand the provision of English as a medium of instruction in more state-run schools. The initiative aims to meet the increasing demand for English-medium education and enhance student enrollments.

Highlighting the substantial demand for English-medium schools across the state, the minister during the Legislative Assembly session on Thursday, outlined the government's objective to establish an additional 500 Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) offering English-medium instruction alongside Kannada within the next three years.

Bangarappa's statement came in response to concerns raised by Tirthahalli BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra, who emphasized the closure of government schools due to parental preferences for English-medium education for their children.

"There is a huge demand for English mediums. As the government, we have a responsibility to take steps by also giving priority to Kannada...(but) parents themselves want an English medium for their children," Bangarappa said, as per PTI.

The Karnataka Minister for School Education and Literacy highlighted studies conducted by the school education department, which revealed that a growing number of children were leaving government schools due to the absence of English-medium education, alongside issues such as insufficient infrastructure. He emphasized the importance of addressing this challenge by offering both mediums of instruction in government schools, providing parents with the option to choose. Currently, approximately 300 Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) offer English as the medium of instruction with plans to expand this provision to more schools in the future.

"The government's target is to have one KPS for every two-gram panchayats. Parents are willing to pay for English education, and the same can happen in government English medium schools with the help of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding. There is good response and small level investments," he added, as per the report.